Report: Gangs moving to suburbs
Tribune staff report
Published June 19, 2006, 1:53 PM CDT
Some gangs members apparently have begun escaping the pressures of big city life by beating a well-worn path to the suburbs.
That's one of the findings of a report released today by the Chicago Crime Commission in its first major study of area gangs in more than 10 years.
"More and more gangs are migrating to the suburbs," Jim Wagner, president of the commission, said at a news conference today.
He said Chicago police have become skilled at disrupting gangland activity, so some gang members are moving to the suburbs where authorities often don't have the manpower or experience to deal with them.
WGN-TV video
In addition, he pointed out, the Chicago Housing Authority has torn down many of the high-rises that once served as hideouts for gangs, and high-end condominiums have replaced dilapidated two-flats in many of the Chicago neighborhoods where gang activity used to thrive.
"Briefcase carrying young executives now stand on the very corners where gang drug dealers once peddled their poison," Wagner said in a press release.
Wagner said people in the suburbs no longer can afford to view gangs as an inner-city problem.
Between 70 to 100 gangs operate in the Chicago area with 70,000 to 125,000 members, according to the 272-page report.
In a survey of 81 suburban police departments, the commission found gang activity to be widespread. With the exception of some affluent and far outlying communities, most departments have had contact with street gangs, and in some cases the problem was found to be extensive.
For instance, an estimated 3,000 gang members operate in Waukegan, 2,000 in Cicero and 1,800 in Aurora, according to the report. In addition, gang activity is reportedly on the rise in 31 communities, including Hinsdale and Naperville.
Drugs remain the financial backbone of Chicago-area gangs, with estimated annual sales of a half billion dollars, according to the report.
But gangs are branching out into other activities, such as mortgage and real estate fraud. They are also active in money laundering schemes, counterfeit IDs, dog fighting, human trafficking and prostitution, according to the report.
Most gang members:
Least gang members:
Waukegan: 3,000 Antioch: 0 Cicero: 2,000 Burr Ridge: 0 Aurora: 1,800 Lake Forest: 0 Elgin: 950 McCook: 0 Evanston: 600+ Elburn: 1 West Chicago: 500+ Hodgkins: 2 Park Forest: 300 to 400 Deerfiled: 1-5 Zion: 300+ Northbrook: 3 Woodstock: 250 Lemont: Less than 5 Hanover Park: 200 Orland Park: Less than 5 Wilmington: 3 to 5 Wilmette: 5 Marengo: 8-10